Worker bees oppose Turtle Bay expansion
In response to
Sunday's "Another Perspective" by Rep. Michael Magaoay, he really does need to get out to these community meetings. If he did, he would once and for all stop saying, "The Turtle Bay expansion project has divided the North Shore community into two camps for and against the proposed development of five new hotels." That is like saying that a beehive is divided into two camps: the queen and the drones.
My plea to Rep. Magaoay is this: Please get to know your constituency.
Elaine Hornal
Waialua
'Key people' are wrong about Republicans
The U.S. Civil Rights Commission voted against passage of the Akaka Bill (
Star-Bulletin, May 4). Charles Maxwell said he would resign from the state advisory panel of the commission because of this vote. Then he said he would not resign. There is no problem with Maxwell changing his mind. What is of great concern to me is his reason for doing so. He said it was because "key people" told him he would be replaced by "a Republican who is insensitive to native Hawaiians."
There is absolutely no basis of fact for such a comment. Gov. Lingle is a very strong supporter of the Akaka Bill and of Hawaiian rights. So are a lot of Republicans, myself included, who are just regular citizens. For Maxwell to repeat such a negative comment about Republicans is totally disingenuous.
Maxwell would do well to find other "key people" to rely on for advice.
Anne Sabalaske
Honolulu
Oil industry knows how to get its way
We are being gouged.
Oil companies are reaping record profits of tens of billions of dollars. The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 gave $14 billion in tax breaks to the fossil fuel industries. The United States has spent $300 billion in Iraq to protect oil. Hawaiian Electric used ratepayer money to pay four employees to serve as free staff to state legislators this season, while working to ensure that alternatives would not interfere with their plan to build an expensive new fossil fuel power plant in Leeward Oahu.
Henry Curtis
Executive director
Life of the Land
Clean elections would be better for Hawaii
It's great to see that grass-roots groups were able to
stop the Legislature from changing Act 203. This is a step in the right direction on campaign finance reform. Unfortunately, the best solution of them all -- "voter-owned" elections -- was snuffed out for the seventh year in a row. Even with the new changes, private interests can give $1,000 here and $1,000 there, and many industries have given stockpiles in the hundreds of thousands of dollars that candidates will be allowed to use. The wave of the future really is clean elections, and Hawaii needs to jump on.
Kory Payne
Honolulu
Ala Wai Canal could use a good flushing
As a longtime resident of Oahu, now residing in Guam, I read the Star-Bulletin daily online and still follow local news. Though the debate has been going on for years, the recent pollution problem in the Ala Wai Canal could be a blessing if it will inspire a cleanup effort that should've been implemented many years ago. As a former boat owner, surfer and paddler, I've been immersed in the fragrant waters of the Ala Wai many times without any ill effects. I am likely blessed with a strong immune system.
I think that a continuous infusion of clean sea water into the upper (Kapahulu) end of the canal would do wonders for the water quality, just like flushing a toilet. Start pumping clean sea water into the upper end of the canal and then sit back and watch the water turn clean.
There also might be a way to use the tides. A pipeline with a one-way valve could feed clean sea water into the upper end of the canal as the tide rises. Then with the valve closed, water will flow out down the canal as the tide drops.
I'm not sure how feasible this is, but I think it's worth discussion. The Ala Wai Canal deserves much more attention than it's gotten over the years, and who knows -- after a while, you might even be able to see some fish in there besides only tilapia gasping for air.
Gary Kendrick
Hagatna, Guam
Former Hawaii resident